Hamas militants have fired more than 2,000 rockets at Israel during the latest violence. The Israeli military has said during nearly a week of intense conflict that its strikes on buildings in Gaza are aimed at hitting targets used by Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the enclave. He said Hamas might have calculated that by placing their "assets" inside a building with news media offices in it "they probably hoped that would keep them safe from Israeli attack." "That is totally false, the media is not the target," he told Reuters.Ĭonricus called the building a legitimate military target, saying it contained Hamas military intelligence. Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus rejected the notion that Israel was seeking to silence the media. “The aim of this heinous crime is to silence the media and to hide the untold carnage and suffering of the people of Gaza," he said in a statement. The acting director general of Al Jazeera Media Network, Dr Mostefa Souag, called the strike "barbaric" and said Israel should be held accountable. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Pruitt on Saturday evening and "offered his unwavering support for independent journalists and media organizations around the world," a State Department spokesman said in a statement. "We have communicated directly to the Israelis that ensuring the safety and security of journalists and independent media is a paramount responsibility," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted. government said it had told Israel to ensure the safety of journalists. "We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organizations in Gaza," he said in a statement."The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today." AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt called the strike "an incredibly disturbing development." He said a dozen AP journalists and freelancers had been in the building and had been evacuated in time.
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